Monday, 28 February 2011

After a busy day I like nothing better than a long soak in the bath reflecting upon the ecclectic collection hanging from the bathroom walls. As I'm wearing a vintage wrap and my hair in a bun I thought I'd share the view from our roll top instead of a picture of me.

This cute ceramic plaque hung in my Grandma's nursery when she was a baby during the Great War.

The ceramic lambs were also from my Grandma's family home. The Kali wood cut was bought in India.

Souvenirs from our travels. The comedy mask was from Greece and the hand of Fatima was bought in Tangier in 1993.

My great-grandfather, Thomas Chapman, my Grandma's father.

The Edwardian mahogany mirror hung in my Grandpa's bedroom when I was a child.

My friend Liz painted this for my 40th birthday.

Jon's gold and silver discs, because awards always belong in the bathroom.

Our Lomography mural featuring pets, India and festival fun.

We hang vintage mirrors from the brick wall to bounce light back from the glass bricks.

The mirrors were from car boot sales and the sputnik clock's a reproduction.

We bought a job lot of these huge burnished frames from a car boot sale years ago.

Framed Victorian-era map of Lower Bengal

The matador print was something my Dad bought on his travels back in the 1950's. I hated it as a child but can appreciate the drama within it's simple lines now.

The Utility shelf is just the right size for our toiletries and limits us buying more than we need. The Lloyd Loom Lusty cupboard houses our towels. The vintage pewter mirror was another car boot sale purchase.

Sunday, 27 February 2011

The lovely Sharon from My Style, Thrifting, Fashion and Me surprised me with a parcel earlier this week. If you haven't visited her wonderfully inspiring blog then you really should. I've been following Sharon for as long as I've been blogging, she has style, grace and beauty and her ability to pick up a catwalk-inspired vintage bargain from a charity shop or car boot sale is second-to-none.

Here is the gorgeous lady herself sporting a vintage faux fur coat and a pair of blinging stripper-style platforms she picked up from last Sunday's car boot sale.

Sharon and I are of similar ages and she's a big 1980's fan. I was thrilled with this Jinty's dress she picked for me as it's a label I recognise from my teens. The batwing sleeves, rhinestone embellishments and eye-popping shade of electric blue (now rechristened cobalt by the fashion pack) were all the things I adored back in the day.

Some think it's sacriledge to put the scissors to vintage but not me. I chopped eight inches off the hem to give it more of a Debbie Harry vibe.

Saturday, 26 February 2011

Phew! Three jumble sales in two days meant a whole lot of laundry. Now everything's fresh as a daisy and crease-free I can show you what my latest purchases look like on rather than in an impersonal post-jumble heap.

Friday, 25 February 2011

The Gods of Second-hand bargains are certainly smiling down on me this week. I picked up this frock from my trawl of the town centre charity shops on the way back from the swimming baths this morning.

Sorry about the poor picture quality from my digital brick camera which I've had since the last century, the bodice is black sequins with a taffeta skirt.

Jean Varon for £5.95? Only in the Black Country! The dress had apparently been hanging in the shop since Monday without a bit of interest.

I left the tags on just in case you thought I was fibbing.

A 1960's size 12 is a contemporary size 8/10 and a perfect fit, hoorah!

I can go for weeks without a sniff of anything good and then out of the blue there's goodies to be found in every shop I visit. I had to come home in the end as I wouldn't have been able to carry anything else.

Thursday, 24 February 2011

For my lovely non Brit-based readers a jumble sale is a general sale of donated, second-hand goods, piled high on trestle tables and sold cheap to raise funds for churches and other charitable causes. Admission is between 10-20p and it's rare for anything to be priced at over 50p.
Jumble sales are a tradition in the less affluent, working class areas of the UK and have been a huge part of my life since I was a child hence the reason I'm rather good at bagging a bargain.

Vintage Derwent hand-made in England lead crystal slipper. I don't like cut glass as a rule but this was too kitsch to miss.

How do I get an invite to see the goods before the general public? By being a model jumbler, not stealing, haggling over prices or being rude, which unfortunately is often the case. I didn't ask for the privilege but I'm honoured to be part of the upper echelons of jumble sale society.

Unlike most people I don't dress down to go to a jumble sale and it's beneficial. Fellow jumblers know my style and throw suitable things in my direction. Being considered "an arty type" meant this pile of fabric offcuts and crafty bits were mine for the taking.

I knew I was onto a winner this morning when another of the chosen few shouted, "Them ay clothes, they'm antiques" which, translated from the Black Country vernacular into the Queen's English, means vintage galore for Vix.

Guillochédressing table set with natural bristle brushes. The design is engraved and not plastic coated. Thanks, Kitty darling.

A small selection of the 1980's day dresses I bought.

The 1960's psychedelic "Ada" frock in the centre has an inbuilt padded bra, I love it.

Two 1950's era blouses, the printed pussybow one has never been worn.

These 1970's tab and dagger collar blouses fill me with joy especially as they also appear unworn and perfect. I don't remember Brentford Nylons selling clothing but the memories of their nasty itchy sheets instantly take me back to the bedding of my childhood.

The 1950's cotton skirt is pristine and like new, the Miss Marple number is by the super posh English label, Gorray.

I didn't iron this 100% rayon, Japanese hand-embroidered wrap before taking a photograph.

Isn't it beautiful?

There was more, lots more, but with another jumble sale kicking off at 6pm this evening I'll have to dash. I'm just another punter at this evening's do so I need to get a good place in the queue ahead of the Black Country Grannies. Wish me luck!

Find me on Instagram

I'm Vix, a jumble sale-ing, car-booting, skip-diving, charity shopping, hedonistic hippy chick in love with life, India and vintage clothes.
In my world getting dressed is always an adventure, never a chore. My style is Woodstock refugee meets Rolling Stones groupie with a bit of vintage Bollywood thrown in. I don't follow fashion and if I look ridiculous so what? Not being noticed and blending in with the crowd is my idea of hell.
A day without dressing up is a day wasted.